[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
Religion Title: Erdogan says Muslims, not Columbus, discovered Americas Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that the Americas were discovered by Muslims in the 12th century, nearly three centuries before Christopher Columbus set foot there. "Contacts between Latin America and Islam date back to the 12th century. Muslims discovered America in 1178, not Christopher Columbus," the conservative president said in a televised speech during an Istanbul summit of Muslim leaders from Latin America. "Muslim sailors arrived in America from 1178. Columbus mentioned the existence of a mosque on a hill on the Cuban coast," Erdogan said. Erdogan said that Ankara was even prepared to build a mosque at the site mentioned by the Genoese explorer. "I would like to talk about it to my Cuban brothers. A mosque would go perfectly on the hill today," the Turkish leader said. History books say that Columbus set foot on the American continent in 1492 as he was seeking a new maritime route to India. A tiny minority of Muslim scholars have recently suggested a prior Muslim presence in the Americas, although no pre-Columbian ruin of an Islamic structure has ever been found. In a controversial article published in 1996, historian Youssef Mroueh refers to a diary entry from Columbus that mentions a mosque in Cuba. But the passage is widely understood to be a metaphorical reference to the shape of the landscape. Poster Comment: Favorite comment, by Hafiza : This made me laugh! It is truthfully *correct* that in his journals Columbus describes a "mosque" at the crest of the hills of the bay they harbored in. Of course Columbus would describe any round building overlooking the bay as a "mosque". Columbus and his group were absolutely 100% *convinced* that they had reached INDIA. Hello, that's *why* all the Native Peoples in the Americas are called INDIANS. *Columbus* called them "Indians". (And don't forget in 1492, India was under Muslim rule, so mosques were a major feature in the landscapes.) Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 9. #1. To: nativist nationalist (#0) Siberians discovered and settled America, joined later by some Polynesians who settled the West Coast of South America. As far as crossing the Atlantic goes, the Phoenicians may have. The Basques too. The Norse did in the 900s. The Irish have their story of St. Brendan. Columbus' discovery was important, because it was done in the hire of a major government and led to the sustained and successful effort by that government to conquer and colonize the Americas.
#3. To: Vicomte13 (#1) (Edited) As far as crossing the Atlantic goes, the Phoenicians may have. The Basques too. Who else "may have"? Don't forget the Transylvanians, Kenyans, and Upper Voltans. Here's the bottom line: A dopey claim of Erdogan's was made to reinforce the ludicrous notion of a Muslim Caliphate in America. Not to speculate and re-consider the actual "discoverers of America." THAT has already been established history: COLUMBUS under the flag of Spain.
#6. To: Liberator (#3) Not to speculate and re-consider the actual "discoverers of America." THAT has already been established history: COLUMBUS under the flag of Spain. Well, the Americas already had lots of people in them, so no, Columbus and his crews didn't discover America. The ancestors of the Indians did. Columbus and his crew discovered America for Western Europe, and that's not really the same thing as "discovering" America. Discovery means "first to find it". First to find it matters in terms of settlement, certainly. The first to get to a place get to settle it without human resistance. Obviously, then, the first people to find a spot are the discoverers, and if you come to a place that already has people in it, you're not really the discoverer. Columbus connected the Americas to Europe. He was key in that.
#9. To: Vicomte13 (#6) ...The Americas already had lots of people in them, so no, Columbus and his crews didn't discover America. The ancestors of the Indians did. Really? Did ANY tribe of Indians create a map of North America? Answer: NO. At best they drew up crude maps of their local area, using landmarks. Europeans has already long been surveying land. Moreover, tribal north American Indians had NO perspective nor idea of exactly where they were on the planet -- never mind the continental borders or presumably any geography beyond 50 miles or so. It IS "discovering" America if there had been no prior map/recognition of it as a land mass divided by oceans. Btw -- There are also two ways to look at it; Is it "discover" America, OR rather discover "America"?? First to find it matters in terms of settlement, certainly. The first to get to a place get to settle it without human resistance. Obviously, then, the first people to find a spot are the discoverers, and if you come to a place that already has people in it, you're not really the discoverer. By some criteria your definition holds water. The "discoverer" recognizes a place as a "new" frontier, then lays claim to it. According to my criteria, THAT would be Columbus, and in Columbus' case, it is "America." Columbus connected the Americas to Europe. He was key in that. As a matter of fact, the entire key. Connecting the Americas to Europe was basically the same as connecting it to the rest of the known ("Old") world.
Replies to Comment # 9. There are no replies to Comment # 9.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 9. Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest |
|
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|